Max Verstappen Was Doomed From the Start as Lando Norris Had Special Help in Already Controversial Battle

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris gave the world of F1 something it’s been missing for the last two years. An intense wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead. Sadly, however, the on-track bout resulted in punctured tires and a McLaren car beyond repair. Nobody could’ve seen it coming before the start of the race. Nobody except perhaps Will Buxton. The F1 veteran journalist foreshadowed it before the race in Austria during the paddock walk.

All cars are lined up for the world to see right before the race during a standard practice known as the paddock walks. During this walk the media, the fans and everyone in the middle get to interact with the challengers from a distance. This is when Will Buxton highlighted the sharp edge on the side of the new McLaren front wing. After pointing it out, he said something, as seen on X, that foreshadowed the events of the race to the T.

He said, “Take a look at that sharp edge on the side of the new McLaren front wing. If you weren’t with us for the sprint yesterday, that’s why nobody wants to get too close to that McLaren. If they start wheelbanging, if Max Verstappen or anybody gets too close to that, that is Puncture City.”

This is what transpired during the race when the two clashed their heads. His front wing worked in more ways than one as it punctured Max Verstappen’s tire. However, sadly for Norris, he came off worse from the tussell than just a punctured tire. Not only did he lose out on his position, he came away with zero points. Now the actions of his friend have become a source of major disappointment for the Brit.

Lando Norris will be prepared to fight Max Verstappen at the front in the future

Self-analysing the incident, Lando Norris believes he gave the Dutchman a fair fight. He was on the edge of the track on a couple of occasions but left enough room. On the other hand, he believes Verstappen made moves that shouldn’t be allowed and penalized. This uncalled-for aggressiveness has disappointed him greatly in his friend who he has a lot of respect for. He expressed this opinion to the media, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

“I respect Max a lot and what he can do and what he goes out and does every time he’s on track, but there’s times when I think he goes maybe a little bit too far.” He said and added, “And I feel like today is a little bit of that. It’s one incident and at the same time, I know these things happen. [But] I’m disappointed. He ruined my race, destroyed my car.

He also revealed the damaged parts of his car are now all scrap. He won’t be able to use them in at his home race. With the budget cap in mind, this puts the Woking outfit at a disadvantage and pits them against time. Even if they’re ready with new parts for Silverstone, it’s a long season ahead. These incidents might add up and cost them in the future.